I gasped. He didn’t tell me he had lunch with her! As the red mist descended, I stepped into view behind him. ‘Ben! Can you close the door, please, you’re letting in a draught.’

‘Hi, Bella, you look well?’ Freya snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I felt like hitting her. She was such a bitch, acting like she owned Ben and treating me like some kind of interloper into their cosy little threesome.

I stared her out for a few seconds, just to unnerve her, before I answered, ‘Actually, I’m not well. Ben, close the door, please.’

Ben hesitated. ‘I’m really sorry, guys,’ he said in a pathetic, pleading tone. ‘Let’s rearrange for another time, eh?’

Matt nodded unhappily and began to turn away but Freya stood her ground. ‘There won’t be another time, Ben! Don’t you see what she’s doing? For Christ’s sake, why don’t you grow a pair? Matt is your oldest friend and you’re treating him like dirt! Shame on you!’ With that, she reached for Matt’s hand and together they walked away. Ben and I watched them go and as they reached the end of the path, I leaned over Ben’s shoulder and slammed the door as hard as I could.

Ben paused for a split second, before he turned around to face me. He was so weak. I glared at him in fury. I couldn’t believe that he had gone behind my back to have lunch with Freya. And more to the point, I couldn’t believe that he had managed to keep it from me.

‘So you had lunch with Freya, did you?’ I folded my arms to quell the massive urge I had to punch his idiotic face. ‘You obviously forgot to mention it.’

‘I didn’t forget to mention it, Bella. It was just that I knew how you’d react, so I deliberately didn’t tell you. Anyway, it wasn’t arranged. I just bumped into her and we had a sandwich, that’s all. No big deal.’

I didn’t believe that for one second. The only way they’d have bumped into each other is if they had arranged it. ‘No bloody big deal? You having lunch with another woman behind my back and moaning about me?’

Ben closed his eyes, aggravating me even further. ‘For a start, Freya is not “another woman”. I have known her for so long that she’s more like a sister. And I wasn’t moaning about you.’

He obviously thought that I was born yesterday. ‘Then what did she mean about your family and me not being fine with them?’

Ben’s eyes slid away and he paused, as if considering whether to say what he was about to say. ‘It was just that she was a bit shocked that Mum and Dad hadn’t seen the baby at that point.’

My stomach dropped slightly. ‘Why did you tell her?’

Ben sighed. ‘Because she asked. Honestly, Bella, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill here.’

‘Well, I just don’t like the thought of you talking about me behind my back. Anyway,’ I continued, keen to get him back on the subject of how awful Matt and Freya were, ‘I was obviously right about Freya and Matt not liking me. You heard the way she spoke to me.’